Did you know that if you are booking a Disney World vacation and staying on property, you can book your Fast Passes 180 days before departure. 180 days! I don’t know about you, but Hot Hubby barely thinks a day in advance, so this was a struggle for us. Luckily for you, I have some advice!

1) Even if you are not staying on property, make a reservation to stay on property. We rented a house for our visit, but booked a room at the All-Star Resort for the first night, so we could benefit from all of the “extras” like getting to book our FastPasses 180 days in advance, getting free MagicBands and getting free replacement bands when you lose them….both Hot Hubby and I lost our bands during the trip.

2) If you plan to get there at rope drop, don’t get any FastPasses for the first 2 hours. The lines are not long and it will be a waste of the pass, when it is needed later in the day.

3) Once you use your three Fast Passes, you can book new ones. There are kiosks and Cast members who can help you use the MyExperience App to book more.

4) Create a MyExperience Account and install it on your phone. You will refer to this multiple times in the day, especially when trying to remember your agenda for the day.

5) Here is what I would use my FastPasses for:

a) 7 Dwarfs Mine Train – the line was never shorter than 90 min and we were on a non-crowded day

b) Peter Pan – this old school ride can accommodate the least amount of people and thus has long lines

c) Big Thunder Mountain or Enchanted Tales with Belle – we loved the Enchanted Tales with Belle and got the best pictures of our trip there.

After you use these passes, we were able to get FastPasses for Buzz Lightyear after lunch and Pirates of the Caribbean after dinner.

Try to have the early planning, help to build excitement for your trip. Disney World is wonderful with or without Fast Passes. Enjoy!

What is better than a visit to the Magic Kingdom? A special Christmas party with Mickey Mouse at the Magic Kingdom! Disney offers this with Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party which is offered on available nights and has a special charge of $89. So is it worth an extra $89?

1) The park closes at 6 pm on the night of the party, but ticket holders can enter the park at 4 pm and usually the party ends at midnight or later.

2) Most attractions are still open during the event, so you can ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train without a 90 minute wait.

3) The number of tickets is limited, so the crowds are less once the party starts at 7 pm.

4) There are over a dozen beloved Disney Characters wearing their holiday attire spread around the park for hugs, autoographs and photos. This year we enjoyed rare appearances with Jack Skellington, Scrooge McDuck and Captain Jack Sparrow.

5) The night begins with an extravagant show where Mickey invites his friends to the party. Then Elsa transforms the castle. Next is the Once Upon a Christmastime Parade which features new Disney Carols, magic and cheer. There are dance parties in Tomorrowland and at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe.

6) There are complimentary, delicious yuletide sweets and season beverages. We loved the Snowman shaped soft pretzel and snow cone. Hot Hubby was crazy about the Ginger cookie and Eggnog.

7) The grand finale is Holiday Wishes fireworks over the Cinderella Castle. This was the biggest and most spectacular fireworks I have seen. It was worth the ticket price.

We added dessert at the Be Our Guest Restaurant and had the best night of our trip!

If you are like Hot Hubby and I, you have never witnessed Walt Disney’s Kiss Goodnight. Did you know that at the end of every day, Magic Kingdom has a special treat to say goodbye to all of the guests in the park. It is a two minute message that runs every 30 minutes after the park has officially closed. Because Main Street is open for an hour after the park closes, the kiss can be heard up to three times a night.

The “kiss” starts with Cinderella Castle “sparkling” as the music from When You Wish Upon a Star slowly builds. A narrator then greets the last of the guests in the Magic Kingdom, saying:

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, on behalf of everyone here at the Magic Kingdom, we thank you for joining us today for a magic gathering of family, friends, fun, and fantasy. We hope your magical journey with us has created wonderful memories that will last a lifetime.

Walt Disney said that the Magic Kingdom is a world of imagination, hopes, and dreams. In this timeless land of enchantment, magic and make believe are reborn, and fairy tales come true. The Magic Kingdom is a place for the young and the young at heart. A special place where when you wish upon a star, your dreams can come true. Until we see you again, have a safe trip home. Thank you, and goodnight.”

This is listed on some lists as a must see, but so far, we have never been able to stay up that late. We are heading back in November, so maybe this will be the trip, we finally get a kiss from Walt.

I am so excited to be going to Disney World in Florida for 7 days in November. But after the excitement, comes the planning. I have already made my dining reservations, which you can do 180 days before your trip.

Next step, planning your Fast Pass selections, which you can do 60 days before your trip. First, I have been researching and have determined which rides I want at each park and I wrote about that in a previous post. Second, now I need to pick a day for each park, so I can choose the correct ride on the correct day. It wouldn’t ruin my trip to just wing it, but this is my first trip with my new Bonus children (Hot Hubby’s children) and I am trying to look good….ha ha.

There are Four Parks. During our visit , Epcot has the Food & Wine Festival, the Food & Wine Marathon and the Very Merry Christmas Party is going on at Disney World. These are definitely something to notice and schedule around. The Food & Wine Festival will be fun, but will make Epcot very crowded on the weekend. Very Merry Christmas party closes Disney World early and requires a separate ticket, so we will avoid that area, except for the day we have tickets!

We are traveling with little ones, so we will plan to be at the park early, leave after lunch for nap time (not sure who will need this most the kids, or Hot Hubby). Then return to the park for late afternoon fun.

Here is my plan:

Sunday – Animal Kingdom – 9 am – 7 pm start small and build up

Monday – Hollywood Studios – 9 am – 8 pm

Tuesday – Magic Kingdom 9am – 9 pm Late start to see Fantasmic

Wednesday – Epcot – Princess dinner reservations

Thursday – Magic Kingdom – Very Merry Christmas Party

Friday – Magic Kingdom

I probably need to put a day off in there, but what should I move? I am too excited to think about a day at the pool instead of a day with MICKEY! Maybe if I just put two late start days into the schedule, I won’t be totally exhausted by Saturday…..but if I am….i can sleep at home!